Well, aren't we having some exciting events lately? I feel sorry for Anne - she's bearing the brunt of the worry right now. All I'm having to do is keep the young lad calmed down & try to convince him that we're not out to hurt him or his pretty young wife. She IS pretty too or will be, once she gets some rest & some good food into her. I'm a tired puppy tonight, more so from all the excitement than work. I've wracked my brains all day trying to be real careful what I said to Louis. She's spooked enough without me adding to that.

Here's what he's told me. He & the young lady lost all their families & he was terrified she'd get sick, being as she was pregnant & all. But she didn't & neither did he. He had a small apartment in some big building in the suburbs & he managed to get her there safely after one hell of a night crossing from her neighborhood to his. Once he had her home safe, he gave her a shotgun he had, (didn't tell me where he got THAT!), then he headed out to look for food, water & whatever else he could think of. This was some time into The Outbreak, so I expect the city was in pretty bad shape. Louis said it sure was. He spent almost four nights sneaking around & bringing back what food, water & other supplies he could find. He told me when he was done, his little apartment, one bedroom, a small front room & a kitchenette was stacked wall to wall with boxes, cases, crates & loose packages. He was smart enough to put plastic buckets on his balcony & the adjoining ones to collect any snow that fell. He figured that would collect water he could treat with bleach.

He was lucky in a way. It was an old building & the balconies on every floor were connected. He was able to go from balcony to balcony, peek in & if a place was empty, break in & take what they could use. He lined his walls with quilts, blankets, sleeping bags - anything he thought might keep them warm. They spent their winter living this way, like rabbits huddled in a burrow or in this case, a south-facing apartment. It's wasn't too bad he said, cold, but they managed. He broke into a sporting goods store & came back with arctic rated books, clothing & sleeping bags. They had books, a small Coleman stove & they made out fine.

They decided to leave when it started warming up. The trip was rough with bad weather, areas they had to avoid & food becoming more & scarcer. They passed people who were also fleeing who didn't make it. Some were sick themselves, others had had accidents & yet other had been shot or worse. They must have been terrified & Leslie had trouble walking. On good days, they made maybe ten miles. On bad days, they sometimes made a half-mile. Finding shelter for the night was always the priority in the late afternoons & that was easier when they had food & water & could carry at least enough firewood to heat up water & a meal.

The warming weather actually made it harder. They had to detour miles to find ways to cross swollen streams & keeping dry was hard. Louis says they kept having to stop to get more boots, more clean, dry socks & clothing. They saw fewer & fewer people as they got farther from Chicago, but stores of any kind were also harder to find. Often they'd find one & find it had been completely looted. In the last week or so, they found less & less food & Leslie found it tougher to walk.

They weren't far from here when she went into labor & Louis hoped to find some shelter in the woods. Leslie had pretty much just collapsed when we found them - they had no idea there was a house just a few hundred yards away from where they sat. There's much he's not saying yet, but I can imagine some of what they've seen. We've all seen some pretty bad things these last several months.

The next few hours must have seemed pretty confusing to both of them. They went from cold, exhausted & hungry & very much alone, to being whisked into a warm, lit house, smelling of supper & more people than they've shared space with in months. Anne & Noreen did the right thing, shooing almost everyone out of the kitchen. Louis was shaking with cold & nerves, right at the end of his strength & it still took me a bit of time to coax him to get cleaned up. What finally did it was telling him, he'd be holding a brand new baby soon - didn't he think it made sense to be cleaned up for that? I guess it did for he took a shower double quick. He looked a bit better for some soap & hot water although he refused to take any time for a shave. He had a beard on him that made him look like one of God's chosen, he surely did.

It was stupid of me to feed him so fast but boy I could almost feel his stomach touching his backbone. Next time, if there is a next time, I'll know better. In any case, he felt fine enough to be there right at the crucial moment, when that baby just burst out, howling & yowling as if he'd had ENOUGH of all the fuss. Noreen grabbed him & got him wiped up, then wrapped him up & handed him to Louis who held him right beside Leslie. Is there anything more glorious than the face of a man & woman looking at their first born? I had tears in my eyes; I expect we all did, Anne, Louise, Annette, Noreen & me. Noreen took the baby back right quick though & a good thing too. Louis handed him over then slipped to the floor in a dead faint. Worn right out, that poor kid!


Now there's poor Leslie lying there in sorry shape herself, bleeding like a stuck pig, one screaming baby & a husband passed out cold on the floor. We got him woken up fast enough & got some hot tea into him while Anne took care of what needed doing with Leslie. It only took an hour or so for baby to have his first feed, Louis to get some soup into himself - & keep it down & Leslie to get cleaned up & take a touch of soup herself.

Meanwhile Tom & Drew cleared out the boys' room & got that set up right nicely for the young couple & their new son. Once everyone was cleaned up, fed & checked out okay, we moved Leslie upstairs. She's light as a feather - can't weight more than 95 pounds & Joe had her tucked into bed before you can say boo! The baby is right beside her in a basket & her husband was right by her side.

We left them be, just telling them to shout if they needed anything but that we'd leave them alone for a time. We left them a pitcher of juice, some hot tea & more soup in case they got hungry. A new family needs a bit of time together I think, before the world intrudes.

They were up a fair bit during the night - babies want what they want right away & never mind what anyone else is doing. Jean helped them out - I don't think either of them had ever changed a diaper in their lives & all that squalling from Junior had them scared to death. We were up too & dying to help but Anne told us to leave them to Jean. The less we interfered, the sooner they'd adjust. I guess she's right, but I had a hard time staying in my bed.

This morning we were all up early, tired or not. Drew had plenty of work for all of us & told me he wanted me to stay near the house, to do some weeding around the kitchen garden & see to Louis & MT. Fair enough & I took a shine to that young man anyway. He may be dumb as dirt, but he seems to have a good heart & I don't think he's all that stupid - just kind of overwhelmed if you know what I mean. I insisted he take another shower once we helped him see to his wife & new son & he tucked into a fine breakfast. I had to tell him to slow down; there was all the food he needed but he'd best go at it slowly.

I took him on a tour of the place, nice & slow; showing him the animals, pointing out the fields & talking a bit about what we're doing here. He's still worn out, must be. He started crying, really crying & sobbed that he couldn't figure out how we'd managed to do all of this. How could we have pulled it all together like this? He felt so useless faced with all of this. Wasn't too much to tell him other than we had a number of advantages. Drew owned the farm & knew the land. We were all from around here or close by & knew the area & were willing to work to earn our bread.

We walked around a bit after that, not saying much. I figured he needed time to hoist everything aboard. He still does, a lot happening in such a short time for a young kid like that. He's only 19 & God help us, his 'wife' is just 17. Now I don’t know how all that happened & it's not any of my business but if what I've seen is any indication, this isn't a young man who's going to run out on his lady when she's in trouble.

As we walked slowly back to the house he stopped me & asked me right out - how long could they stay. I had to answer right out - the answer wasn't up to me & we all hadn't had time to discuss it yet. He told me if we were planning to meet & talk on it, he'd like to say a word in his own favor if he might. That sounded fair enough to me & once everyone finished their day's work, we all did sit down & talk while Louis waited upstairs with Leslie & the baby. I started by saying I didn't think it was fair to leave them hanging - they had enough on their plates to begin with. I feel the same way MT does - they landed on our doorstep so to speak & I feel like we have some responsibility towards them. Most seem to agree.

I spent the most time with him today, so they asked me most of the questions. I did have work to do today, lots of weeding, some wood & water to haul & I told them he helped out without being asked. All he needed to know was how to do something or where to find things but had been willing enough to work. If anything, I had to tell him to slow up as he's still pretty weak. I took him into the house a few times to feed him up.

We talked some about it - no one had any real objections so we did a secret vote. Unanimously it was decided to let them stay on these conditions. They have to work for their keep. Initially that's Louis. His young lady needs more time to recover & get used to being a momma. I went straight up to their room to tell them - figured they both needed to know right away & maybe they'd best find out with some privacy. They both burst into tears, followed real fast by Junior. And there I stood like an idiot, scratching my head & stammering that it was okay, it was going to be all right, They were safe now.

And they are - least ways as safe as we can make them here. I have a good feeling about this. They're young & maybe were right foolish to get in the family way but that's done, they've got a new & big responsibility now & we'll manage it all somehow. I know we will. I snuck off & let MT know - no surprising that woman. She said of course they were staying. It was meant to be. I'm not one to argue with the Almighty or someone who seems to be sitting right with Him, so I just ducked out & mumbled something about coming back later to sit with her a bit before she went to sleep.

I'd best go do that now. It's late, well not late but it sure feels like it. Tomorrow, Louis is coming out with me again as I finish weeding the kitchen garden with the kids in tow. I'm not sure what Drew has planned for most of them but I won't argue with my job. I'm not as young as I used to be & trying to settle this young man down some is taking a toll on me. I hope he settles in fast - he's got a lot to learn but seems willing. Now, off to visit with MT.